Fenghou

The distress letters from the local government flew to the imperial court like a snowflake, but Qin Hui detained them all. He just told the emperor lightly that thieves and thieves were rampant on Jingnan South Road, and hungry people were everywhere. He only needed to be tax-free for three years, and he could recuperate and recuperate. There was no need to send troops to suppress bandit.

The local government had no choice, and officials headed by Zhang Shun, the prefect of Jiangling, jointly signed to rescue Chen Qing. Only then did Zheng Ping urgently write to Jingzhao, requesting to send troops to support Jingnan Lake.

Zheng Ping's [-] troops had not yet arrived, but Yang Yuanqing's cavalry arrived first.

Liu Gui was one of the dozens of gangsters. He stood on the millstone and shouted viciously: "Master, you don't have to kill you. If you don't want to die, just listen. Our brothers want to eat and marry wives. Hand over the money and food honestly. If a young woman handed over, the money and food will be free. If I find out that you hide rice and money and hide women, then I'm sorry, I will chop off your heads and eat them with wine! "

As soon as the words were finished, a wolf-toothed arrow swished out, extremely powerful, and hit Liu Gui's throat, Liu Gui let out a muffled groan, and fell on his back.

There was a loud sound of horseshoes all around, and countless cavalry came, and some cavalry shouted: "We are the cavalry of the Western Army, all the people get down, you can live if you get down!"

All the people were so frightened that they lay on the ground, arrows rained down from all directions, and the bandits ran for their lives crying, but were shot down one after another.

Chapter 713 Joining Forces

Yang Yuanqing acted cautiously, he did not drive out all the bandits, but took dozens of captives to Jiangling City, this is to prevent someone from slandering them for killing people and claiming credit.

Zhang Shun, the magistrate of Jiangling, heard that the cavalry support from the Western Army had arrived and that he had wiped out Liu Gui, a bandit in Longshan. He was ecstatic and went out of the city to welcome the Western Army.

"So it's General Yang, that's great!"

Zhang Shun didn't expect that it was Yang Yuanqing who came. Yang Yuanqing had been stationed in Jiangling for a few months, and Zhang Shun was Jiangling's judge. He was worried that he would be a difficult general, but he didn't expect it to be Yang Yuanqing. Zhang Shun was overjoyed.

Yang Yuanqing clasped his fists and said with a smile: "Prefect Zhang, we haven't seen each other for a long time!"

"General Yang is here, Jinghu is safe, please enter the city quickly!"

"Wait a minute!"

Yang Yuanqing waved his hand, "Bring it up!"

Seventy or eighty bandits brought up by soldiers of the Song Army knelt on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs, all of them downcast.

"This is Liu Gui's bandits. They ravaged Fangcheng Town last night and we beheaded more than 80 people. The [-] people stayed and waited for Zhang Zhifu to deal with them."

Zhang Shun gritted his teeth and said, "Liu Gui's subordinates did all sorts of crimes. At least thousands of innocent people died at their hands. There is no need to interrogate them. General, please behead me directly!"

Yang Yuanqing immediately ordered: "Drag it down and behead it, and show the head to the public!"

Dozens of people were so frightened that they kowtowed and begged for mercy, "General, please spare me! We will never dare again."

Hundreds of Song Army soldiers dragged them down like wolves and tigers. In just a moment, all eighty bandits were beheaded, and thousands of people around them suddenly burst into cheers.

……

In the prefectural office, Yang Yuanqing introduced Chen Qing's bandit suppression support arrangement to Zhang Shun.

"Xuanfu envoys will support Jinghu South Road in three steps. The first step is to forcefully suppress the bandits and send 1000 troops. I am [-] cavalry, and [-] sailors will come from the Yangtze River soon. The second The first step is to suppress bandits and spring plowing at the same time. Seeds and cattle will be sent, and then the Song army will suppress bandits while protecting spring plowing; the third step is relief. At least there is food to eat, of course, the relief is mainly implemented by the government."

Zhang Shun was really moved. He sighed and said, "The benevolence and righteousness of envoy Chen Xuanfu is like a mirror in our hearts. This kindness will be remembered by the officials and people in Jingnan. Now there is no food in every state and county, and hungry people are everywhere. There are many old people and children. They are all on the verge of death, it is too miserable, if possible, it is best to provide relief in various states first, and we must fully cooperate."

"Why is the famine so severe?" Yang Yuanqing was also a little shocked.

"It's not Liu Guangshi's fault. He transported all the grain from the official warehouses of the states and counties without leaving a single rice. As a result, when he surrendered, all the grain became the spoils of the imperial army and was transported away. Now, with banditry rampant, every household has run out of food, so they can only dig wild vegetables to survive, but eating wild vegetables every day is not a solution! Seeing that the spring is approaching, there are no seed cattle, and the officials are worried. .”

"How is the situation of the bandits on South Jing South Road?" Yang Yuanqing asked again.

"The bandits on South Jingnan Road are basically loafers, a group of more than a dozen or 20 people, but because of the unity of the people, the loafers can't take advantage of it, and now they have begun to develop in clusters. There are already five bandits. There are relatively large bandits, Liu Gui, whom the general wiped out yesterday, is one of them. There are currently four bandits, one in Jiangling Mansion, one in Yuezhou, one in Tanzhou, and one in Changde Mansion. They all occupy the mountain as king. , it’s not easy to encircle and suppress.”

"Are there still many wandering warriors?"

"There are so many more, it's almost too much."

Yang Yuanqing nodded, "Our Xuan Fu envoy ordered me to lead [-] scout cavalry to Jingnan to suppress the bandits because of the fact that the bandits were scattered. The [-] scouts will be divided into [-] teams to suppress the bandits in various places, and we will try to spend half a year. Eliminate banditry."

"But what about the four major bandits?"

Yang Yuanqing laughed, "Have you forgotten, Mr. Fu? We still have [-] soldiers yet to arrive!"

Just as he was talking, a servant from the yamen ran over and reported in the hall, "I want to report to the lord that a fleet came from the west, and a lot of soldiers came down. They said it was the Sichuan-Shanxi Army."

Yang Yuanqing was overjoyed, he did not expect the Western Army from Bashu to come so quickly.

……

On the Yangtze River, two hundred [-]-stone ships began to dock slowly, and [-] troops gathered on the shore. They were the [-] Western Army from Bashu. It was Yang Yuanqing's general. After Yang Yuanqing transferred to a civilian position, he was transferred to Zheng Ping's jurisdiction.

It is also Zheng Ping's shrewdness. He received Chen Qing's flying eagle message, telling him that Yang Yuanqing had led [-] cavalry to go south to Jiangling, and Yang Yuanqing was the leader of the bandit suppression in Jingnan.

Zheng Ping immediately changed his generals and sent Yang Yuanqing's old general Wang Dan to lead 6000 people eastward.

Yang Yuanqing and Zhang Shun rushed to the pier, Wang Dan stepped forward and knelt down on one knee to salute, "The humble Wang Dan sees Commander Yang!"

Yang Yuanqing was overjoyed, Zheng Ping actually sent Wang Dan to command the army, this is for his own face!

"It turned out to be General Wang, please hurry up!"

Wang Dan got up and said: "General Qi, this time I led [-] troops to suppress the bandits. In addition, there are [-] shi of grain. General Zheng said that this is the arrangement of Xuanfu envoy. The [-] shi of grain It will be used for disaster relief first, and the grain seeds will be shipped later."

Yang Yuanqing nodded and asked, "Is it paddy or rice?"

"Reporting to the commander, there is only [-] shi of rice, and the rest is rice."

Yang Yuanqing turned his head to Zhang Shun and said, "Let's start building the shed! First we will start the porridge relief in Jiangling City, and then we will send the food to the local governments."

Zhang Shun was overjoyed, "I will arrange to set up a porridge shed now."

……

With the arrival of 50 troops, the Western Army began to pay fees on Jinghu South Road. Yang Yuanqing divided the 2000 scout cavalry into [-] teams, [-] people in one team, and went to various places to suppress bandits. The food was sent to the states, and Yang Yuanqing and Wang Dan led [-] troops to Jianli County, where the largest group of bandits on Jinghu South Road consisted of about [-] people.

[-] troops rushed to various places, opening the curtain of a comprehensive suppression of bandits on the Jinghu South Road.

……

That morning, the imperial court special envoy Orihiko arrived in Jingzhao, and was warmly welcomed by Chen Qing. The special envoy and his party of more than [-] people lived in the VIP post.

Zhe Yanzhi is also very concerned about the demise of Xixia. The seven generations of the Zhe family have served as prefects for more than 100 years, guarding the frontier for the Song Dynasty. Fuzhou is today's Fugu County in Yulin, the frontier of the Northern Song Dynasty.

It was also because of the invasion of the Jin soldiers that the Zhe family was forced to go south. Zhe Yanzhi dreamed of returning to Fuzhou, even if he gave up his official position in the imperial court.

In the lobby, the two were divided into guests and hosts, Zhe Yanzhi pondered and asked Chen Qingdao: "Does Xuanfu envoy have any plans to attack Hedong?"

Chen Qing smiled and said: "The preliminary estimate is next year, but when next year has not yet been fully determined."

"If you want to attack Hedong, I suggest that it should be sooner rather than later next year?"

Chen Qing was taken aback, "Why did Mr. Zhe say such a thing?"

"I'm telling you in my personal capacity that next year the imperial court will negotiate a truce with the Jin soldiers. Once the imperial court and the Jin soldiers cease fighting on the Huaihe River, the Kingdom of Jin will inevitably increase its troops to the east of the river. It will be very difficult to seize the east of the river."

Chen Qing smiled slightly, "In fact, great difficulty is not necessarily a bad thing. In many cases, the more you pay, the more you will gain."

Zhe Yanzhi felt very ashamed and nodded, "It's better for Xuanfu envoy to see thoroughly and see in the long run."

Orihiko pondered for a long time and said, "If I come to Jingzhao for retirement next year, I wonder if the envoy will welcome me?"

"Did something happen to Mr. Zhe in the court?"

Orihiko sighed softly, "The ups and downs of these years are all related to the imperial court's anti-gold strategy. If the imperial court resists the gold, I will be promoted. If the imperial court appeases and compromises, I will be demoted. Now that the imperial court's finances are in crisis, a deal will be made next year." And the possibility is great, I am already mentally prepared to step down."

"When Jin Guo tore up the agreement, Zhe Gong will make a comeback."

Orihiko shook his head, "I'm tired, and I don't want to bother anymore."

Chen Qing was silent for a moment, and said sincerely to Zheyan: "If Mr. Zhe is willing to come to Jingzhao, it is my great honor, Chen Qing!"

Chapter 714 Rumor

In the morning of the next day, Zhe Yanzhi officially read the will of the emperor, commending Chen Qing for his great achievements in destroying Xia, rewarding him with 10 taels of silver, and canonizing him as the king of Lingwu County. , the official wife, Lu, is the princess, and the wife of Xia Guo is appointed, the second wife, Zhao, is the wife of the county, and the two concubines, Yu, are named Yiren.

The Privy Council and the Ministry of Officials are ordered to reward all meritorious officers and soldiers according to their merits, and another million pieces of silk will be rewarded to the officers and soldiers of the three armies.

After reading the imperial decree, Orihiko discussed the governance of Hetao on behalf of the imperial court, Chen Qing and several chief officials of the Xuanfu envoy.

"I can tell the Xuanfu envoy and all the senior officials frankly that the officials are not very interested in Hetao. It should be because it is too far away. When the officials heard that Xixia was destroyed, they only said yes three times, and then there was no more, not even Let the political affairs hall discuss the follow-up matters, but the imperial court is very concerned, Zhang Jun suggested that the political affairs hall discuss the governance of Hetao, although they failed to come up with a set of plans, the imperial court will still maintain a high degree of concern."

Jiang Yanxian slightly bowed his body and smiled, "Could Zhetongzhi tell us why the court didn't come up with a governance plan?"

Orihiko smiled and said: "Accordingly, this is not the scope of my duties, I should not say too much, but since Jiang Changshi asked, I think it can still be discussed as a kind of political exchange.

I personally think that the imperial court did not formulate a plan. The key is that the imperial court has no idea of ​​the situation in the Hetao area. How many counties, population, ethnic composition, production situation, etc. have no clue. How can they come up with a governance plan? "

"Then will the imperial court send someone to understand the situation in Hetao?" This time it was Zhou Kuan who asked.

"If the Sichuan-Shaanxi Xuanfu envoy has not provided the corresponding information, then the imperial court can only send people to Hetao to find out the situation, but if the envoy can't go to Hetao due to safety issues, the matter may be left alone in the end. Zhengshitang There are so many affairs that it is impossible to focus on one thing, do you understand what I mean?"

What Orihiko means is that if you want the court not to interfere with Hetao, you should not provide any information to the court. At the same time, you must prevent the court from sending people into Hetao to investigate. up.

Everyone is well aware of Orihiko's suggestion, but Orihiko is representing the imperial court, so he can't say too much, and can only make a fuss from such trivial details, but for Chen Qing, none of the above is necessary, even if The imperial court made a thousand governance plans, just ignore it.

However, Chen Qing was more concerned about the financial situation of the imperial court. He asked: "Yesterday, Mr. Zhe said that the imperial court decided to negotiate a peace and truce with the Kingdom of Jin because of the financial crisis. Actually, I don't care about the peace and truce. I am more concerned with the financial crisis of the imperial court. How serious is it?"

"It's very serious. As far as I know, there are only 50 copper coins left in the official treasury of the imperial court. Generally, the tax from the previous year will not be escorted to Lin'an until April next year, but the imperial court can't wait. How much is the escort, and immediately transferred to Lin'an, it is said that there are only 150 million guns, which is not even enough for a month's military salary."

Zhou Kuan frowned, "I remember that a few years ago, the imperial court still had a budget balance. Why did it change so much?"

Zhe Yanzhi sighed, "It is mainly because of three major events that caused the court to suffer miserably. Of course, it has nothing to do with Bashu. Bashu's taxes have been supplied to the Western Army for so many years, and the court has not been able to get it. It has no impact on the court. The key is Jingnan. It is said that Zhang Jun's army spent 900 million guan in military expenditure and one million shi in food in half a year to quell the chaos on the South Road.

The second is that the imperial court subsidized the Jianghuai River and the Huaihe River. During the Jianghuai War, millions of people in the Jianghuai River could not cultivate, so they had to be fed by the imperial court. It's the end, I don't even know.

The third is the military salary, food and grass of the 30 Northern Expeditionary Army. The military salary alone costs 200 million guns a month, and there are also a large amount of armor and supplies. After half a year of the Northern Expedition, almost all the warehouses of the imperial court were empty. It was really impossible to continue the fight, and a truce was necessary. peace talks. "

Chen Qing said indifferently: "The financial crisis of the imperial court has become the responsibility of the anti-gold faction?"

"I can't say that. Fighting against gold is a big plan. It won't be won in a short while. In particular, we must pay attention to methods and methods. Gou Jian spent ten years accumulating national strength and finally won a battle. Just fight against gold, with a hammer in the east and a stick in the west, take Yangzhou, attack Bianliang, and fight against Jianghuai. Putting the blame on the anti-gold faction, Lu Xianggong dismissed, Li Gang dismissed, those who are really capable of resisting the gold are not reused, and those who are incapable of resisting the gold occupy high positions, isn't it chilling?"

"The capable fighters are Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, and Wu Jie, but who are the incompetent fighters?"

"The incompetent anti-gold fighters are two Zhangs, with the same name, the mediocre general Zhang Jun, and the mediocre prime minister Zhang Jun."

Chen Qing asked with a smile: "I would like to hear the details!"

Orihiko shook his head, "During the six months since Xuan Fu envoy attacked Xixia, many major events have happened in the court, and they are all public matters. Xuan Fu envoy can inquire about it by himself. It would be bad if I said it."

Chen Qing knew that he was afraid of offending Zhang Jun, so he didn't ask any more questions, and sent someone to send him back to the VIP post to rest.

Chen Qing returned to his official room and sent someone to invite Zhang Miao. Not long after, Zhang Miao hurried over, bowed and said, "See the king!"

Chen Qing didn't like the title of Fushi Xuan, that's why he insisted on being crowned king. Once he was crowned king, the nature would be different. Fushi Xuan was a minister, while the king of the county was the lord.

Chen Qing was not modest and acquiesced in Zhang Miao's change of address.

"I want to know what happened to the court during the six months since I conquered Xixia?"

Zhang Miao was in charge of intelligence, and he had heard about the affairs of the court, but he didn't know the details.

He thought for a while and said: "Probably in the first half of the year, Zhang Jun was transferred to conquer Liu Guangshi, and Wu Jie replaced his defense line. The Wan army joined forces to attack the Central Plains without Zhang Jun's restraint. Both Wu Jie and Han Shizhong agreed, and the emperor also agreed. logistics.

The imperial decree had been issued, and the army began to send troops to the Northern Expedition, but for some reason, the emperor suddenly issued an order to cancel Yue Fei's post as the commander of the three armies, and at the same time cancel the Northern Expedition, so the three armies had to withdraw back to Jianghuai.

Immediately afterwards, Yue Fei resigned, and without waiting for the emperor's consent, he took off his armor and went to Lushan Donglin Temple to observe the filial piety for his mother. In Xiangyang, Yue Fei's generals complained of illness one after another, and everyone panicked. The hundred thousand Yue's army was about to mutiny.

When the news reached Lin'an, the emperor was also frightened. He refuted Zhang Jun's request to dismiss Yue Fei's memorial, and also rejected Yue Fei's resignation. He ordered Zhang Jun to go to Luzhou to appease Yue Fei, invite him back to Xiangyang, and let Yue Fei restrain Wu Jie's army. , In fact, the emperor compromised with Yue Fei. "

Chen Qing pondered for a moment and said: "It should be Zhang Jun who is instigating, that's why Orihiko called him mediocre."

"The lowly position is also considered in this way. There are rumors that Zhang Jun was transferred to quell Liu Guangshi's rebellion. Yue Fei passed the governor Zhang Jun and directly recommended Wu Jie to the emperor as the leader of the center line. Zhang Jun was very unhappy. Zhang Jun originally wanted to Let Zhang Zongyuan be the center line leader."

Chen Qing understood, and said with a smile: "So Zhang Jun persuaded the emperor that it was too dangerous for Yue Fei to control an army of 20, and he would become the second Chen Qing, so the emperor changed his mind and canceled the joint northern expedition. Losing the right to join the army, he felt that he was loyal to the Northern Expedition for the country, but the court was suspected, so he put down his burden in a fit of anger."

"The county king's guess is almost inseparable, and the truth should be like this."

"But Yue Fei is too upright, he doesn't understand the dangers of the court at all."

Chen Qing sighed, shook his head and said: "He is loyal, but the emperor thinks that he is greedy for military power. Go back and give him the military power again.

The same thing, standing in his position and the position of the emperor, are completely different interpretations. One is that he failed to serve the country and ran away in anger, and the other was that he failed in seeking power and retreated to advance. . "

Chen Qing slowly said to Zhang Miao: "This is the reason why I am determined to control the military power. Instead of being suspected of rebellion, it is better to establish a separate regime. I will never be the second Yue Fei."

Chapter 715

Orihiko left the next day, and the time gradually approached mid-December, and another heavy snow swept through Guanzhong. Jingzhao City was filled with a world of ice and snow. The New Year was getting closer, and every household posted door signs , making rice cakes, brewing Tusu wine, everyone is immersed in the atmosphere of the approaching New Year.

It was a day off, and it was still snowing outside, but the room was as warm as spring. Chen Qing was playing with his one-year-old eldest daughter Xueer in the study. Xueer was very naughty, climbing up and down on Chen Qing, and no one was serious The shape, in the words of her mother Lu Xiu, is the same as when she was a child.

His son, Chen Ji, is very stable. The three-year-old is not naughty, and sits beside him and draws quietly. He likes calligraphy and painting.

At this time, Lu Xiu walked in, hugged her daughter and smiled, "Don't make trouble, little guy, your father is busy!"

The little guy hugged his father's neck from behind and refused to leave, Chen Qing said with a smile: "Today is a day off, you can play for a while longer."